


Nobody Likes You When You're Twenty-Three

by thebrutalityofreality



Category: All Time Low, Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Growing Up, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebrutalityofreality/pseuds/thebrutalityofreality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex Gaskarth is twenty-four years old and a hard-worker who may have grown up too soon.<br/>Jack Barakat is twenty-three years old and has the mentality of a sixteen year old boy.</p><p>Alex shows Jack a thing or two about acting his age. Jack shows Alex that growing older does not mean giving everything up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody Likes You When You're Twenty-Three

Alex Gaskarth was a responsible and hard-working twenty-four going on twenty-five year old. Jack Barakat was the boy who never grew up, twenty-three going on six.

Alex was the victim to a rigid nine to five routine work. He had an office job, which he hated. When Alex had been younger, he was naïve in thinking that it was a good idea to study music in college. So he went to college for four years, studied hard, pursued his career in music and ended up graduating with a great GPA, but with no promise of a career, nor were there any signs pointing toward a career. Alex’s real dream was to be in a rock band, to be an awesome rock star. He had been dreaming of that since he was a teenager. Unfortunately, reality began to set in and he was starting to realize that he was definitely not going to be the rock star that he wanted or dreamed he’d be. So he swallowed his pride and was able to land a job at an office. A job that he hated, but a job was a job. It was mundane work, work that a monkey could be trained to do. But it was earning him a pay check, and he was able to pay his bills for the most part. Alex did not have a lot of bills or expenses at the moment. He lived with his parents still, though they did not mind too much. He was earning his own money. He was more so using the house until he had enough money to rent or get his own place. Alex felt fairly lame for being twenty-four and still living at home with the folks. He had lived alone and independently in college, he loved it. But for the past few years, Alex more or less gave up on being young. He was an adult. A struggling adult, but an adult no less. He was working every weekday, spending his weekends strumming away at a guitar, or watching whatever was on TV. He didn’t spend money, every paycheck was put away with the intent of saving up for his own rent, or helping with his parents once they retired. Alex Gaskarth was an adult.

Jack Barakat refused to admit that he was turning twenty-four in less than a month. Jack was not responsible like Alex was. He had never been responsible, even as a teenager. He didn’t do great in high school because parties were much better than trig homework. His parents were decently well-off though, so they managed to ship his ass off to college. A college that he flunked out of after his first year. He did very well in the party aspect of college. Not so great in the education part. But Jack didn’t care at nineteen. He spent his next few years hanging around his parents’ home, messing around on his guitar or playing video games. Jack ignored the notion of being unemployed and twenty-three, why should he get a job when he had a place where he could get free food and wifi to watch all the porn he wanted? His parents weren’t too pleased with their slacker of a son, naturally. After threatening to kick Jack out, Jack lied and said he had a job to appease them. They believed him, which granted him permission to stay. Not many questions were asked about Jack’s job, nor did they ask for rent or money. They were just happy Jack was working. What they didn’t know was that when Jack claimed he was going to work, he really just wandered around Baltimore, snuck into the movies, stole candy from the bulk candy aisle of the supermarket, pretended to (for the most part) masturbate in public bathrooms, along with many other juvenile activities. Or he'd go down to the bar where his friend worked and convince the other to give him free beer. Jack was under the impression that he was still a teenager, though he had not technically been a teenager in over five years. Jack Barakat refused to admit that he was an adult in any way, shape, or form.

Alex never imagined someone like Jack entering his life.

The first few encounters were more or less uneventful. They’d pass each other on the street. Jack tended to check Alex’s ass out in his tight dress pants. It looked good, he played for both teams, could he blamed? Alex never really noticed. He was usually looking over some sort of documents from the day at work, or avoiding eye contact completely. Alex tended to walk with his head down. He looked at the ground and his stiff dress shoes often, a sign of self-consciousness and discomfort. Jack always walked with his head held high, confident and sure of himself, despite the fact that he had done almost nothing with his life. Alex worked hard, he had high hopes and dreams, but he walked with such uncertainty and discomfort. He had much more of a reason to hold his head up high, yet he was the one looking down and wishing he had done more or done something different. Even if he didn’t realize it then, he needed someone with the confidence that Jack had in his life.

 

 

One afternoon, after a hard day at work, Alex made his way to the bus stop. It was a warm spring day in Baltimore, so hot that it felt like it was July as opposed to late May. He took a seat at the bus stop, loosening his stiff black tie. He felt as though it was choking him, perhaps a metaphor to his job and how much he hated it. He was getting paid on Friday at least. Add more money to the ‘Alex’s Place’ fund. Obtaining a comfortable amount of money to rent an apartment was not going to be easy. Apartments were getting more and more expensive each day, and he did not exactly have a roommate or significant other that he could just move in with. He had visited a few places and people that were looking for a roommate, but most were either asking WAY too much for rent, definitely making him pay a large chunk of it, or were simply freaks. But Alex was determined. He felt guilty living at home at his age, despite the fact that he was working and had not asked for money from his parents since he was in college. He needed to get out of their hair, in his mind he was a burden. Alex pulled out the paper and turned right to the Ad section, seeing if there were any apartments available. 

“What are you looking for?” Alex jumped at the sudden voice behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a tall man with black and blonde hair leaning over his shoulder, trying to see what he was reading. Alex recognized the guy, mainly due to his hair and the BONER t-shirt he was wearing. He saw the guy on the streets often while he was coming home from work. He was half sure he saw the guy checking him out on more than one occasion. Alex did not exactly mind that part, he was gay, but a relationship was just the last thing on his mind. Friendship wasn’t something that was a top priority either.

“Is that really any of your business?” Alex asked rather callously as he turned back to the paper and away from the other. He skimmed the paper, focusing on the ads and more or less ignoring the other man completely.

“Well, I can make it my business. I can make anything my business. I’m trying to make it my business, but you’re kind of being a dick about it.” Jack offered with a small smirk as he leaned against the bench.

“Excuse me?” Alex asked, turning around to face the other in almost disbelief. Did some guy really just call him a dick? A stranger that he never met in his life, as well as a stranger that he caught checking out his ass last week.

“You’re excused.” Alex was in sheer disbelief. Despite his rather juvenile outfit and hair, Alex was confident that this guy was at least twenty-two, if not older and closer to his age. But Alex suddenly felt like he was back in high school, talking to the most immature kid in his math class. He shook his head, looking away from Jack once again. “Do you mind leaving me alone? I had a rough day at work, I really just want to go home.”

“Where do you work?” Jack asked, inviting himself to converse and take a seat next to Alex on the bus stop bench. Alex put down the paper, growing a bit frustrated with this stranger. Did he not get a hint at all?

“Didn’t I /just/ ask to be left alone?” Alex questioned.

“Yeah, well, I decided to ignore that.” Jack decided simply.

“…are you high?” Alex asked. If he was high that might explain the rude and off behavior.

“I wish.” Jack responded with a smirk across his face.

Alex felt like he was dreaming right now. Never in his life had he met someone that gave him such a headache. He hadn’t even been talking to the guy for more than five minutes. Alex decided to just ignore him. That worked with children. If you ignore them, they get bored and find someone else to bother. Alex was pretty confident that this guy would function in a matter similar to a child. If he ignored him, he’d get bored and just walk away. He turned to another page in the paper, starting to read whatever the headlining story was.

“You probably work in an office, right?” Alex didn’t respond to the question. He simply turned the page of the paper, turning to see a recap of the Orioles game.

“Have you ever had crazy sex on your desk?” Alex was forced to drop his silent treatment at the intrusive question. He stood up and just looked to the other. “Look, if you keep this bullshit up, I’m going to call the police for sexual harassment charges!” 

“Woah!” Jack put up his hands in a defensive fashion. “Look, I was just trying to have some fun, make you laugh a little. You seem like a cool guy, just really stressed out. Seriously, don’t you think you should relax a little? You’re young, like what, twenty-two?”

“I’m twenty-four!” Alex snapped a bit.

“Alright, I’m turning twenty-four next month, so we’re the same age. Do you see me freaking out? Relax, dude. Laugh at a joke or two, talk to some random fucker at the bus stop.” Jack suggested. Alex shook his head, relieved when he saw the bus arrive.

“I don’t have time for this.” He dismissed, as he rummaged in his pocket and took out his bus pass. He did not look back at Jack as the bus pulled up to the stop. He would just go home, get away from that annoying and weird guy, relax a bit, it would be fine. He showed his bus pass to the driver, taking a seat at the available seat in the back. He glanced out the window, noting Jack sitting at the bus stop still. As the bus pulled away, Jack smiled in a lazy fashion at him and gave a lazy two finger wave. Alex just stared at him, watching the other until he was out of sight as the bus turned away. He just had the oddest encounter at the bus stop. He only hoped that would be the last of Jack Barakat.

 

 

Jack became mildly obsessed with the mystery man in a tie from the bus stop. He had been checking the other out last week, yes, but now he had this newfound desire to learn more about him. Sleeping with him would ideally be the long term goal. He hoped that would be a short term goal, but he was not sure how well that would go. The other didn’t even want to talk to him, he had no idea if he was gay or not, he was way too focused on his job. Sex was probably the last thing on his mind. Jack mentally decided that it was going to be his current mission to get the other to open up to him. Or at least give him a name.

Jack explained to his parents that he just happened to have a shift change at his nonexistent job, so he’d be working evenings now. Evenings so he could wait for the other at the bus stop. Jack assumed that he got off of work around five from his oh-so-glamorous office job. So Jack went to bus stop a bit before five, just in case. Several buses went by and the bus driver would open the door each time, but Jack would just shake his head. “Next one.” He’d tell the drivers. Jack was not really planning on taking the bus, unless things went particularly well with Alex, which he doubted. He hummed a bit, drumming his fingers on his leg a bit while waiting.

“You again.” Jack turned his head in the direction of the voice. There stood the man he had been waiting for, his expression seemed less than enthused.

“Yeah. Me.” Jack said simply with a small smile.

“Are you stalking me?”

“What, you think you’re the only guy who can wait for a bus?”

“No, but I have a feeling that you’re only at this bus stop because of me.”

“Wow, you really like to flatter yourself.”

Jack watched as Alex simply rolled his eyes and took a seat on the bench, keeping a safe distance from the other. He set his old backpack down in between them, serving as a bit of a buffer. Jack smirked a bit at the sight of the backpack. “Are you going to work or high school?” He asked the other.

“I don’t like briefcases, I’m not that official, so why should I use one?” Alex mumbled simply, busy texting away on his cell phone. Silence passed between the two of them for a moment, though Jack shuffled a bit closer to the other.

“I’m Jack.” He introduced.

“That’s nice.”

“You know, people usually give their name back when someone asks.”

“Yeah, but it’s not a law.”

“Wow, you’re like a stuck-up bitch.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Jack seemed a bit disappointed in Alex’s reaction. Yesterday he had been getting all fired up, all angry and fussy. Today, he definitely was calmer and was pretty much dismissing all of Jack’s bullshit. But Jack was stubborn. If Alex wasn’t going to bite, he was going to make him bite. He was going to just up his game.

“What if I guess your name?” Jack tried.

“If you want.” Alex mumbled passively.

“Daniel?”

“No.”

“Jason?”

“No.”

“Peter?”

“No.”

“In my pants?”

“Definitely not.” Jack actually laughed at that response. He noticed Alex crack a small smile as well, which meant that his work and efforts were definitely working. 

“Made you smile.” Jack pointed out with a smirk.

“Nope, not you. Cell phone.” Alex tried, as he continued to do whatever he was doing on his text message. It looked like he was surfing, but his phone seemed way too basic to have that feature. So that meant he was pretending to be on his phone as an excuse not to talk to Jack. Jack moved a bit closer, watching as Alex’s phone displayed nothing but the time and a background picture of Green Day.

“Yeah, staring at Billie Joe is pretty fun, but your hands aren’t down your pants.” Jack commented. Alex scooted away immediately, not saying anything. “You know, for a guy who prides himself on being mature, you do have Green Day as your background on your phone. Isn’t that kind of a teenage girl thing?” Jack questioned. Alex shifted uncomfortably saying nothing on the matter. “I mean, you don’t have to feel ashamed of it.” Jack pulled out his own cell phone, revealing his background was the symbol for Blink-182. “It used to be this hot topless chick, but people stared too much. People are so damn nosy.” Alex glanced over to view Jack’s background, but he said nothing. Jack simply shrugged relaxing back in the bench, trying to think of his next move.

“Green Day is better.” Jack was shocked for more than one reason. The first being, Alex was initiating conversation with him. And the second, he could not have been more wrong. 

“Bullshit, Blink all the way.”

“No fucking way, Blink just copied the sound Green Day already had!”

“How did they copy? Does Green Day own the entire pop punk market?”

“Well, they more or less made it what it is today.”

“Well so did Blink!”

“Only because of Green Day.”

“No way!” Jack paused in the friendly debate for a moment. “Green Day definitely has hotter members though. I’d suck Billie Joe off any day.” Jack was expecting the conversation to end completely after his blunt and sexual statement. But as he glanced over to Alex again, he was smiling and laughing at that one statement. Jack laughed a bit as well, though he admired how Alex looked as he smiled and laughed. It was obvious to Jack that smiling and laughing definitely didn’t come too easy to him. He seemed like the kind of guy that was constantly stressed and worried about something, whether it be something as big as his future and career, or the bus running late. He seemed like the kind of guy who grew up too early and too fast. Jack probably wasn’t the ideal person to be pitying someone for being too grown-up. Jack needed to act more like a man in his mid-twenties, but he was still refusing to do so. Jack had heard of something called Peter Pan syndrome, which referred to people who refused to grow up or refused to admit they were adults. Jack definitely was a more than likely candidate for the syndrome, but he refused to admit it. He was not even wearing tights and he definitely didn’t have any pixie dust.

“So, while we’re on the topic. Hoppus, DeLonge, Barker. Fuck, Marry, Kill.” Jack asked, sensing the other was starting to open up to him.

“Oh wow, fuck you.” Alex said but he laughed, meaning it in a more affectionate way this time. “I’d definitely fuck DeLonge, no questions. And I’d probably marry Hoppus. So…kill Barker? I guess that works.”

“I’d probably do the same.” Jack agreed, pleased with Alex’s answer. “But I’d probably like to fuck all of them, a big orgy.” Jack admitted shamelessly. Alex just laughed once again.

“Holy crap, you're sick.” Jack simply shrugged and grinned at Alex’s comment. He heard the sound of the Baltimore bus approaching. Alex apparently did too, as he stood and picked up his bag. Jack watched the other start to pack up his things.

“So you’ll tell me that you want to fuck Tom DeLonge, but you won’t tell me your name?” Jack asked the other stubbornly, pouting a bit. Alex threw his backpack on his back, simply smirking at Alex. He started to walk toward the bus. “Come on, if we can talk about fucking guys in pop punk bands, you can definitely tell me your name!” Alex still did not respond. “You know my name, it’s only fair!” Alex was standing on the first step on the bus. He glanced over his shoulder at Jack.

“Alex.” He said simply, smiling at Jack. He offered a small two finger wave before he turned and walked on the bus, the doors shutting behind him. Jack watched the other walk right to the back of the bus. Alex took a seat and took out a pair of earbuds. He slipped them on and shut his eyes as the bus rolled away, not even glancing out the window at Jack like he had last night. But Jack didn’t even care, because he learned the other’s name. Alex. The slacker smiled a bit to himself, half considering stalking the bus to find out where Alex lived. He ultimately opted against that. Contrary to popular belief, he actually was not THAT creepy. At least not yet.

 

 

The next day at the bus stop, Alex was fully expecting to see Jack waiting for him at the bus bench. But much to his surprise, and slight disappointment, he wasn’t there. In his place was a woman in her mid-thirties with a crying baby. Alex winced at the sound of the loud crying and took a seat on the bench. He took out his earbuds and started to skim through his iPod. He could not help but smirk a bit as he scrolled past Blink-182 music, causing him to recall the rather interesting conversation he had with Jack. Alex had no idea how he felt about Jack. It was obvious that the other was interested in him, he was pretty blatantly flirting with him, as well as asking which member of Blink-182 he wanted to fuck. But he didn’t know a damn thing about the other. He pretty much only knew his name was Jack, he was twenty-three, he was probably the most immature man he ever met, and he was definitely gay, or a bisexual with a heavy tendency toward men. There was not much of a relationship to be built there. Plus he was pretty sure that Jack was not looking for any sort of relationship with him. He definitely just wanted a hook-up, which Alex was not interested in. He was too old for shameless hook-ups, that was so college. He was at the point in his life where he was searching for a life partner, someone that he could spend the rest of his life with. As odd as it sounded, he could somewhat picture that person in Jack. Something about the two of them having an apartment, checking out bands in the local music scene, cuddling while watching a horror movie, it just seemed like Jack could fit that mold. But he knew that Jack was definitely not looking for the same thing, plus they had only hung out very briefly twice. Alex was definitely not asking Jack out. He’d /consider/ saying yes if the other were to ask him out. But if he wasn’t here to stalk him again, that definitely was not going to happen. Part of Alex had been hoping that the third time would be the charm. But it clearly was not going to be. He attempted to shake said thoughts out of his head as he put on music. He had to stop obsessing over some weird guy that he just met.

Alex had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the bus pull up. The blaring sound of a honk managed to be heard over the loud rock music that Alex was listening to. He jumped at the sound and looked up to see the familiar bus driver waiting for him to get on the bus. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed his backpack, showing the driver his pass as usual. He mumbled an apology as he got on the bus, heading right to the back. He kept his eyes down as he walked as always. He was about to sit down at his usual corner window seat in the back, but someone was sitting there. His eyes widened as he saw who it was.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Alex asked immediately. Jack Barakat turned away from the window and just smirked smugly at Alex.

“I’m sorry, I was under the impression that anyone could ride the bus? Baltimore has a fantastic public transportation system.” Alex rolled his eyes at Jack’s response, but he ultimately just threw his bag at the floor and took a seat beside the other.

“I’m seriously convinced that you’re stalking me.” Alex mumbled simply.

“Well, are you going to get a restraining order?” Jack asked. After seeing Jack waiting for him at the bus stop the second time, Alex had seriously been considering it. But then after the pleasant, though extremely immature conversation they had at the second encounter, and Alex’s rather obsessive thoughts centered around Jack, he knew that he wasn't going to. Alex did not want Jack to know this though, since it was still extremely probable that the other was a freak with malicious intentions. Alex tended to have some trust issues. He saw the worst in everyone. But he could not be blamed for not wanting to trust the guy with blonde and black hair in a BONER t-shirt that talked about sex with complete strangers. He decided not to respond to the other, drumming his fingers on his kneecap.

“You’re not going to.” Jack said with a chuckle. “You’re pretty bad at acting like you hate me, you know that?”

“I never said I hated you.” Alex murmured. “I just…I mean, you’re pretty weird.”

“Weird? Care to explain how?” Alex simply stared at the other as he said that. Did Jack really think that he was a normal twenty-three, soon to be twenty-four year old man?

“Have you looked at yourself? You’re twenty-three years old and you dress like a sixteen year old. You sit around bus stops and talk about sex with strangers, but you don’t actually get on the bus. You have the maturity of a boy in junior high school. And it’s pretty obvious that you don’t have a job since you’re able to stalk me all of the time.” Alex said this all rather quickly. Jack once again just smirked and laughed a bit. Alex raised an eyebrow. How was that funny? He pretty much just listed everything that was wrong with Jack. He didn’t offer a single compliment to the other. And Jack was just laughing. “How is that funny?”

“Because it really is true. Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three.” Jack just chuckled once again.

“Well, nobody definitely like /you/ when you’re twenty-three.” Alex emphasized the ‘you’, meaning that it was a case that only applied to Jack. Though Alex was pretty sure everyone hated him when he had been twenty-three last year. And the world was still giving him a big middle finger a year later at twenty-four.

“Oh?” Jack scooted a bit closer to Alex. Alex felt his face grow a bit hot and red, but he didn’t bother to scoot away or shove Jack away from him. “Well, my birthday is in a few weeks. Does that mean you’ll like me when I’m twenty-four?” Alex rolled his eyes at the other’s flirting. But at the same time, it felt nice to have Jack flirt with him. He couldn’t remember the last time that /anyone/ flirted with him. Probably during his Junior year of college. Which was probably the last time that Alex considered himself to be young, coincidentally.

“Not if you’re going to keep acting like this. You’re going to be twenty-four, don’t you think it’s time to grow up a bit?” Alex asked, looking Jack in the eye for the first time in the entire conversation.

“No.” Jack responded simply.

“And why’s that?” Alex asked the other.

“Because there’s no law that says once you reach a certain age, you have to become an ‘adult’ and walk around like you have a huge stick up your ass.” Jack responded simply.

“Well, the country recognizes you as an adult when you turn eighteen.” Alex attempted to counter.

“Come on, did you /really/ consider yourself an adult when you were eighteen?” Jack had a point. Alex was still shamelessly stealing twenties from his Dad’s wallet at eighteen. Hell, he didn’t stop doing that until he turned twenty-one, again his Junior year of college. Alex was really starting to piece together that the year he turned twenty-one was the year that he stopped considering himself young. That was when he started to worry about life after college, worry about being married, worried about living on his own, it all hit him after that one birthday. And Alex had generally been alright with that, he considered himself an adult. But at the same time, he still knew that he wasn’t completely ready to grow up completely. He still had some shining moments of absolute immaturity, such as his indulging in a game of Fuck, Marry, Kill. And Alex had thoroughly enjoyed that conversation with Jack. Maybe that was why he didn’t just avoid Jack or get that restraining order. Because Jack made him feel young again. Though at the same time, he pitied Jack. How was Jack ever going to make it in this world if he still acted like he was sixteen years old? Was that why Jack liked hanging around and harassing him? Did he make Jack feel older? Alex was so lost in thought that he didn’t even realize how long he had been quiet since Jack posed the question.

“Wow, you’re really thinking that over.” Jack commented.

“No.” Jack raised an eyebrow at the sudden abrupt response from Alex. “I mean, no, I didn’t consider myself an adult when I was eighteen. But I consider myself one now. I’m going to be twenty-five soon, I have a job, I pay my taxes, I go to jury duty, I’m not a kid anymore.”

“But does that mean you have to give it all up?” Jack asked the other. “Don’t you ever just want to have a crazy drunken night again, go to shows, dye your hair a crazy color? You’d look pretty awesome with pink hair.” Alex rolled his eyes at Jack’s suggestion. While having a crazy drunken night and going to see some shows still sounded fun and potentially probable, he definitely was not dying his hair pink anytime soon. But even though he still saw the appeal of getting drunk and going to a rock show, he felt too stubborn and too lost in his ‘I’m-an-adult-now’ mentality to let loose and just have fun.

“I mean, yeah.” Alex began, though stood as he realized his stop was coming up. “But…I think that ship might have sailed.” He threw his backpack on.

“That just means you’re early for the next boat. Hop on and grab a beer.” Jack smiled at Alex. Alex was surprised to hear something like that come from Jack. It actually sounded mature, it sounded intelligent. He never expected wisdom to come from a man like Jack. But it was still hard to take him seriously with the word BONER across his chest.

“…we’ll see.” Alex replied somewhat ambiguously. He smiled back at Jack. “If you /do/ actually follow me home though, I am going to consider that restraining order.” Alex warned.

“Wasn’t planning on it. I’m not that obsessed with you. At least not yet.” Jack smirked at Alex, who just laughed and rolled his eyes.

“See you tomorrow.” Because Alex knew that he was definitely going to see Jack again, there was not a single doubt in his mind. He started to walk off the bus before giving Jack a chance to respond

“Yeah, I’ll pop up somewhere.” And at that answer, all Alex could really do was smile.

 

 

Jack was pretty much astonished by the dramatic change in how well things were going with Alex. He had only known the guy for about three days now, they hadn’t even hung out for a full hour when it was all put together, but it was going well. Alex was smiling at him all the time now, laughing at his jokes, and not telling him to go fuck off. It was all progressing so smoothly. Jack knew that it was time to step up his game a bit, meaning it was time to ask Alex out on a proper date.

He got off the bus at the stop that was near his house, though he still had a bit of time until his shift was up. It was still happy hour, so he ultimately decided to go to one of his favorite bars. It was a pretty old place, but everyone in there was pretty nice. And they had live music on Saturday nights, which Jack often did check out. He loved checking out the local music scene, and sometimes he even got lucky and scored a make-out or two during the band’s set. Mainly groupies who were looking to sleep with the lead singer, but just settled for Jack. Hey, he was getting some, he didn’t give a fuck.

Jack took a seat at the bar and drummed his fingers on the table. “Um, excuse me, a little service here?”

“Um, excuse me, I’m actually helping customers that pay?” The bartender smirked as Jack before he walked over to the other. Jack grinned a bit. Rian, the bartender, was a guy that he went to high school with. They had been friends for close to ten years. Rian was always a hardworker, the exact opposite of Jack. He had gotten good grades in high school, gotten a degree at the community college, but ultimately decided to just work simple jobs such as bartending. And he managed to make a living for himself.

“I pay.” Jack knew that this was a complete lie. “Speaking of which, I’ll take a Bud.”

“Four dollars.” Rian said as he took a mug and put it under the tap.

“Can I take another 'I owe you'?” Jack knew that Rian would give him the beer. Another reason that he continued to come to the bar, he more or less drank for free. Rian would always cut him off after one or two beers though, unless Jack actually started paying, which he never did. Jack honestly could not recall the last time that he got really drunk, offering him slight incentive to get a job. But it still wasn’t enough.

“No.” Rian slid the beer over to the other though, which meant that his threat was definitely just an empty promise.

“My birthday is soon, can this be part of my birthday present?” Jack raised the beer to his lips and took a sip of it.

“I’m buying you a present?” Rian asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, because you love me and we’re best friends?” Jack tried hopefully. He still made a bit of a fuss about his birthday. He more or less ignored the fact that he was getting older each year, he just wanted to party and eat a shitton of cake and get presents too. He more or less bullied the few friends he actually managed to maintain in celebrating his birthday with him.

“Well, if that’s all I have to get you, fine.” Rian said before he went to go and check on some of the other customers at the bar. Jack meanwhile glanced around the bar. It was pretty quiet during happy hour. It was mainly people that were coming off shifts at work and definitely needed a shot or a strong drink. Most of the party people didn’t come until night, typically on the weekends. Jack looked to the wall where a poster was put up for the band that would be performing this week. Pierce The Veil. They definitely weren’t from around here.

“Hey, what’s Pierce The Veil?” Jack asked Rian as he was in the middle of making a drink.

“A band, Jack. Stop sounding like a tool.” Rian said with an eyeroll as he smiled and served the drinks to two older women.

“No, well, I know that. But like, they’re not from around here. I’ve never heard of them.” Jack explained simply as Rian made his way back over to where Alex was sitting. “Are they any good?”

“They’re from California, I think. Playing small bars and shit all across the country. They’ve got balls, I’ll give them that.” Rian offered simply. “And I think they’re a little bit hardcore. I don’t know, they’re popular in the college and high school scene. We’re too old for them, I have no idea who’s going to show Saturday.”

“Well I’m going to show.” Jack decided. “Aaaaand I’m bringing a date.” Rian more or less stopped what he was doing when Jack announced that he was bringing a date.

“/You/ have a date?” Rian asked the other in a matter-of-factly tone of voice.

“Yes, why is that so hard to believe? I’m kind of a catch.” Jack said proudly.

“Is your date aware that he is going on a date with you?”

“No, not yet.”

“Jack, then you don’t have a date.”

“Yes I do!”

“No, you don’t!” 

Rian shook his head at this. Clearly it was a conversation that he had one too many times with his best friend. Jack had the tendency to decide that people were going to date him without having actually done the asking out portion. Half the time, he ended up getting the date. The other half, he usually got a ‘Fuck you, Jack’. So based on his odds, he had a fifty-fifty shot of getting the date with Alex. 

“Is it a guy or a girl?” Rian finally asked the other.

“Guy, he’s really cute. Twenty-four, his name’s Alex.” Jack said proudly.

“Thank god he’s not another seventeen year old. That was so Scott Pilgrim.” Rian mumbled, referencing the popular graphic novel that Jack bulled him into reading. All Rian had said after reading the comic was ‘wow, is this a story of your life?’ and then moved on. Jack tended to relate too much to the twenty-three year old slacker comic book character, and he knew it. But he didn’t think it was a bad thing, hell, he thought it was pretty fucking awesome.

“She was turning eighteen in like a month.” Jack corrected. “And he’s a mature adult. He works a job, he even wears a tie and shit to work. And he wants to fuck Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge.”

“Fuck that, I’d rather fuck Barker.” Rian began. “And if he is this ‘mature adult with a career’, what the hell does he see in you? You’re twenty-three and you’ve worked one job when you were nineteen.” Jack and Rian both had gotten jobs at Rita’s Italian Ices. Rian started working there to have money to pay for gas to get to and from the community college. Jack took the job because he just flunked out of college and his mother insisted he get a job. He worked there for roughly a month. At the end of the month, Rian was promoted to assistant manager and Jack was fired for tardiness and eating too much of the Italian ice.

“That job sucked, I don’t know why you stayed there for so long.” Jack mumbled, wincing at the memory alone. “And what’s not to like about me? So what if he has a ‘career’ and ‘ambitions’, he can still have fun with me.”

“Fun with you usually ends in someone crying and catching some sort of disease.” Rian joked, but Jack could sense some degree of seriousness in the other’s voice. “And alright, fine. Let’s make it interesting. If this guy actually goes on a date with and for some reason likes it, you’ll drink for free, as much as you want, for a month.” Rian began. Jack perked up at the offer. “But if he doesn’t come on Saturday, or if he comes and looks like you paid him off, you pay me back for all of the ‘free’ drinks that you’ve had over the years. And so far your amount of ‘I owe yous’ is…” Rian took out a pad from the apron he was wearing, skimming to the entire section marked off ‘Jack’. “Two-hundred and seventeen dollars.”

“Deal.” Jack said immediately, extending a hand out to shake and seal the deal. Rian smirked and shook Jack’s hand firmly. Jack wondered if he should be offended that his best friend refused to believe that it was possible for him to have a date. But he didn’t care, the offer of free drinks was far too interesting for him to refuse. He was confident Alex would go out with him.

 

 

“I can’t go out with you.”

“What!?”

Jack was staring at Alex in sheer disbelief at the bus stop the next day. He could already see and hear Rian laughing in his face for making Alex up. And even if it wasn’t for the bet, he was really bummed. He really liked Alex, he really wanted the other to go out with him and check out some band that was apparently too young and too hardcore for them. But the other was just refusing right away.

“A band at a bar? That’s so college.” Alex began. “And there’s the fact that it’s, well, you…”

“Ouch.” Jack mumbled. “But I thought we were hitting it off. You even said that you were going to see me today.”

“Well, yeah. Because I thought this whole ‘you stalking me and waiting for me at the bus stop’ was becoming a regular thing.” Alex admitted.

“Well, it has to escalate beyond that at some point, doesn’t it?” Jack pressed on. “I mean, I like you a lot. And I really want to hang out with you some more.” Jack watched as Alex bit his lip and seemed to be contemplating the whole entire thing. Silence passed for awhile. Jack wondered if he had managed to crack the other.

“I just…look, I can’t do this. Now’s not the time for me to be going out on dates.” Alex mumbled, not looking to Jack. He stood up even though the bus wasn’t approaching yet. Jack watched Alex frantically check his watch. He clearly wanted to get out of here and avoid Jack.

“So what are you going to do on Saturday now, Alex? Sit at home, watch movies about people your age out having fun. Wonder why you can’t do that yourself?” Jack asked the other. “You’re letting your life pass you by, Alex. You think that you need to be so mature and grown-up. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and do something you want.”

“Jack, just stop!” Alex finally snapped. Jack was a bit taken back by this. “Look, you don’t get it. You don’t know what it’s like to work for something, to work every single day. You’re a slacker, you’re never going to grow up. Everything isn’t about having fun, sometimes you need to just swallow your pride and admit that the past and being a kid is done. I realized that three years ago, and I’ve been working my ass off ever since. When the /fuck/ are you going to realize it? Grow UP, Jack!” Alex more or less yelled at Jack. Jack just stared at the other. He looked hurt. That hit pretty close to home. And it really hurt a lot that it was coming from Alex. Jack never really thought he was much of a failure, he thought that he was just lazy. And he wasn’t too concerned with being lazy, because he was always having fun or doing something fun. But now it was starting to hit him. He was turning twenty-four in about two weeks. What the fuck was he doing with his life?

“You’re right.” Jack rose to his feet as well. “I’m just a fuck-up; I’ve always been that way. And I probably will always be. Sorry I bothered you so much. I just thought you were a cool guy that I could maybe hang out with, maybe date. But I wouldn’t want to ruin your perfect adult life.” Jack shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, turning to walk away. He paused before looking back at Alex one last time. “And even if I am fucked up. At least I still know how to have some fun. You don’t have to become a bore once you hit twenty-four, Alex.” Jack shook his head a bit and just walked away, not looking back. He watched the bus pass him by, he could hear the engine roar. He could have sworn he heard Alex calling out his name, but he realized that couldn’t be the case. And even if it was, he didn’t want to turn around and face it. Jack didn’t want to hear it. It wouldn’t change what Alex already said to him. He opted to head toward the bar. Not to have a drink, but to ask Rian for a job. He had to pay off that debt somehow.

 

 

After what he had said to Jack, Alex felt like the biggest jerk in the world. He went home and didn’t bother to greet his mother, or respond to her asking him how work was. He just made his way up the stairs and to his bedroom. He threw his bag down and took off his tie, collapsing on the bed. Alex just kept playing back the scene that just happened in his head. Jack’s pressing for him to go, Alex’s yelling at the other, and then just the expression Jack’s face. Alex felt like a huge asshole. No wonder he still didn’t have a relationship. Someone asked him out and asked him to do something fun, and what did he do? He yelled at the other.

And what was even worse, was he was even envisioning himself dating Jack and forming a steady relationship with the other. But then when the chance to actually date and actually potentially start a relationship arose, Alex panicked and said no. Not only that, but he would probably never see Jack again. The other hated him. He raised an eyebrow  
as there was a knock on the door. 

“Alex?” He heard his mother and he sighed in frustration. Just what he needed, his Mom coming and babying him.

“Yeah, the door’s open.” Alex said, as he got off his bed and pretended like he had been tidying up his bedroom. His mother opened the door, looking around.

“Did you have a bad day at the office?” She asked her son.

“No, Mom, I’m fine.” Alex mumbled stubbornly. He didn't look to his mother.

“Alexander Gaskarth, I know you too well to know that something is wrong.” Alex rolled his eyes. He hated when his mother still got all, well, Mom-like on him.

“Mom, I’m twenty-four years old. I’m too old to be coming to you with all of my problems. I shouldn’t even be living here anymore.” Alex responded. He knew his mother just loved having him here still. Of course she did, Alex was her son. So she wouldn’t understand his problem.

“You’re never too old to talk to your mother. I call your Grandmother sometimes to talk.” She offered. Alex made a face. He knew he got his stubborn attitude from his mother and she would not back down until he talked. He swallowed his pride and looked her in the eye, but then immediately looked away.

“I guess I feel…old and pathetic?” Alex asked. His mother actually began to laugh at him as he said this. Alex immediately raised an eyebrow and shot a look at his mother to explain herself.

“I’m sorry, but I never heard of a twenty-four year old dinosaur.” She began. “Alex, you act older than you need to. You wake up, go to work, and then you come back home. You used to go out all the time, have friends, date.” Alex blushed as his mother brought up his lack of dating. It still felt odd when his parents commented on his dating or not dating in this case. His parents knew he was gay, he came out back in college. He never had an actual boyfriend that he brought home to them or much of a steady relationship. College had been a few hook-ups and maybe a week or two of dating. After college had been no one at all.

“But don’t you think that I shouldn’t be going out partying all the time? I’m working to save up and get my own place, pay your retirement fund later on.” Alex tried.

“Well, thank you for putting me in a home so soon.” She stated. Alex chuckled at his mother’s joke. “And yeah, that is important. But you’ve always been so responsible, Alex. You deserve to have fun, hang out with some people your own age. Everyone at bars and clubs are your age. They work and then they go out. No shame in doing the same.”

Alex nodded a bit. He felt pathetic, like he was seventeen years old again and getting advice from his mother. But it was exactly what he needed to hear. It was the same advice that Jack had been giving him too. And he felt even more like an asshole for ignoring the other. He knew that he had to make this right.

“Well, I’m going to start on dinner then. Are you eating with us tonight?” His mother asked. Alex thought for a moment, then nodded. She turned to walk back down the stairs, though Alex had one last fleeting thought.

“Mom?” He asked. His mother stopped and turned to face the other. “So, let’s say this guy invited me to a show tomorrow night. But I said no when I really wanted to say yes. Do you think I should show up tomorrow and go looking for him?”

“Is he cute?” Alex blushed at the blunt statement from his mother. He hesitantly nodded. “Go for it, Alex.” She smiled at him before walking out and shutting the door.

 

 

“IDs out, please. If you’re under 21, just get the fuck out of here. Fakes will be fed to our bartender.” 

Jack Barakat was standing outside of Rian’s bar. But he was not waiting in line to show his ID to the bouncer. No, he WAS the bouncer. After finding out that Alex did not want to go out with him, Jack went crawling to Rian for a job to pay off his debt. The bar never had enough bouncers to work show nights, so Jack was hired for the job. He was not even getting a paycheck though. Whatever he would have earned was just going to be knocked off from the debt he had to Rian. He was finally paying for all of those free beers he had for the past few months.

It felt weird working. It wasn’t exactly a hard job standing outside the bar and making sure everyone that came in was twenty-one. It was just incredibly boring. And he was going to miss the beginning of the show. The doors closed a half hour after the bands started to play, but the sets weren’t ridiculously long. Jack was not sure if he even wanted to stay for the set. Alex’s words were still sticking with him and he was suddenly full of insecurities about himself and his hobbies. He had already turned away plenty of younger college kids that were trying to get into the show. Maybe Alex was right. Maybe he was getting too old for this scene.

“Fake.” Jack said as he passed back the ID to some punk girl who could not be older than nineteen. “Go buy a happy meal, kid.” The girl huffed and snatched her ID before storming off. After her and her friends left, traffic more or less stopped completely. The show had been going on for about fifteen minutes now. Even though the band was not the usual pop-punk sound that Jack liked, they sounded pretty good. The crowd in the bar definitely loved them too. Jack peered in through the window, trying to catch a glimpse or two. He could not see anything over the huge crowd though, which was a bit frustrating. Jack sighed and turned away, leaning against the thick glass window. He doubted that anyone was going to show up this late. But he had to stay outside until Rian came to shut the doors. Jack hoped that would be soon. He really wanted to just go home and sleep. Maybe he’d wake up and this would all just be a nightmare. Maybe he’d wake up in a world where he wasn’t a failure and he was the sort of guy that someone like Alex wanted to date. He doubted this, of course. But sleep was always a nice escape from the shitty reality that Jack called his life.

“Jack?” A voice nearby called out. Jack turned to his right, eyes widening at the sight. He hardly recognized the man in front of him. Skinny jeans, a black Blink t-shirt, and pink highlights. Jack could hardly believe that he was looking at Alex Gaskarth.

“Alex, holy shit!” Jack exclaimed as he moved over toward the other and stared at him. “You…pink!”

“It’s a temp dye, it’ll fade after I wash my hair. My boss would kick my ass if I came into work with fucking pink in my hair.” Alex chuckled and tugged at one of the pink locks. “Does it look as good as you thought it would?”

“Even better, you look badass!” Jack exclaimed. “Uh, not to be a douche or anything, but what are you doing here? I thought you didn’t want to come?” Jack asked gently. Alex looked down immediately as he said that.

“I know. I thought about it a lot. And I realized that I was completely out of line in what I said about you. I was in no position to judge you or call you a fuck-up, Jack. Truth is, I thought I had to grow up right after I turned twenty-one. I thought that I was so mature, so much better than someone like you. But in actuality, I was even more immature. Because I didn’t let myself do what I loved.” Alex said as he looked to Jack with apologetic eyes. “I’m really sorry, Jack. I really wanted to come out with you tonight. So…I’m here if you want to still give this a shot.”

“Oh, yeah, I’d love to!” Jack grinned. He realized he technically won the bet with Rian now. He’d get free drinks and he could quit the job. But what if he kept the job? What if he worked for actual money for once? Alex had a job and he was coming out here tonight. And he seemed interested in doing more things of the sort as well. Jack could definitely do the same. Maybe that would even impress Alex a bit. “But, I’m actually working. I’m the bouncer, that’s why I’m out by the door.”

“You got a job?” Alex asked in sheer disbelief. Jack nodded with a proud smile on his face. “Look at you, I’m so fucking proud of you.” Alex leaned in and gave Jack a hug. Jack chuckled a bit and he hugged the other back. Coincidentally, Rian came outside soon after and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jack hugging some guy.

“Uh, we’re gonna close the doors, Jack?” Rian asked in a tone of uncertainty. Jack pulled away from Alex but he kept his arms around the other’s waist.  
“Awesome, we’re gonna check out the show. By the way, Rian, I’d like you to meet Alex.” Jack could not have smirked any wider at the sight of Rian’s expression when he introduced Alex. Jack put an arm around Alex as he started to lead the other into the bar. “We’ll be taking full advantage of my free drinks tab. And for the next time I bounce, I fully expect you to bring me as many beers as I want.” With that, Jack and Alex went into the bar.

Rian stood behind for a moment and just laughed. It was obvious that Jack was fully intending to keep the job for money. “Look who finally grew up!” Rian called out to Jack. Jack only smiled back at Rian as he and Alex tried to navigate through the crowd to get close to the stage.

 

 

“Holy shit!”

“What?”

“Those dudes we saw at the bar months ago. Look, they’re on MTV.”

“Why are you even watching MTV?”

“New Bieber video, duh.”

Alex chuckled at Jack’s response and he reached over and gave the other a kiss. Jack gladly kissed the other back. He was currently sprawled out across the couch and watching a Pierce The Veil music video. They seemed to have done pretty well for themselves. Even though Alex and Jack were not rockstars on MTV, they were doing pretty well as well.

After a few months of dating and saving, they decided to move in and find an apartment together. Alex was still working at his office job. He also worked the bar sometimes, after taking a bartending class, so he could hang out with Jack more while he worked and also because he felt bad for Rian. Jack was still bouncing at the bar, though he also picked up a day job at a local music shop. He had been playing guitar for years, so he naturally knew a lot about guitars and fixing them. It was definitely a no brainer job for him and he actually liked doing so. Plus it helped pay the rent and bills each month.

The apartment was small but quaint. It was a one bedroom, since that was all they really needed. The apartment was always a bit messy, since Jack was a huge slob and Alex usually didn’t care enough to clean. After he reached a breaking point though, he’d always tidy up. Many of Jack’s Blink-182 and Green Day posters from his old room survived the move and were proudly hanging on the walls. It was definitely an ideal apartment and environment for both of them.

Alex walked back into the living room while tying his tie. He stared at the television for the moment. “They were a lot older than I remember.”

“Who the fuck are you to call them old, you’re twenty-five." Jack commented with a smirk.

“Well you’ll be twenty-five pretty soon yourself. That’s halfway to fifty.” Alex teased.

“Twenty-five’s not old. I’m still closer to being in high school than I am to being forty.” Jack suggested.

“Huh, never thought of it like that.” Alex murmured as he went looking for his shoes, eventually finding them under the coffee table. He took a seat on the couch to put them on, though not before shoving Jack’s legs off to make room. “Are you working today?”

“Nope, I’m off today. So my ass is not going to be moving from this couch.” Jack decided as he curled into the blanket a bit. Alex rolled his eyes and took the blanket off the other. 

“Don’t get too comfortable. Rian called and he needs you to be at the bar at four. Acoustic happy hour.”

Jack whined dramatically at this. “Well, that’s not for another few hours. I don’t even know why I’m awake, you didn’t even leave for work.”

“Did you really forget about the shower sex? That was like, a half-hour ago.” Alex chuckled as he got up again for one last cup of coffee.

“Oh yeah, that’s why I’m up.” Jack grinned a bit as he sat up. “Can we have some more of that when you get home from work?”

“No, because I’m going right to the bar to help out during happy hour. And after working a twelve hour work day, I won’t have sex with anyone. Not even Tom DeLonge.” Alex told Jack as he quickly chugged one last cup of coffee.

“Ugh, fuck working.” Jack mumbled as he picked up the blanket again and he burrowed himself in it. He was going to remain blissfully ignorant to the fact that he had work tonight until it drew later. Probably until Alex started to send a slew of text messages reminding him to get up and go to work. No, he'd definitely call Jack. Alex knew that Jack slept through the sound of getting texts.

“Shit, I’m going to miss my bus.” Alex mumbled as he grabbed the same old backpack that he had been using for years. “Promise me you’ll be at the bar at four?”

“Promise.” Jack mumble, but it definitely sounded like an empty promise.

“Yeah, I’m going to call you at three.” Alex grabbed Jack’s cell phone from the coffee table and made sure the volume was set on loud to wake Jack up in case he fell back asleep. 

“Oh and go buy milk. We're out because someone had to have Cookie Crisp everyday this week." Alex requested. Jack smirked in response, knowing he was the reason there was no milk. "I’m sorry to cut into your big day of napping and masturbating.”

“You should be.” Jack said with a small smirk. Alex simply smiled as he leaned down and gave Jack another kiss, allowing this one to linger.

“I love you, Jack.” Alex said as he smoothed back some of Jack’s hair.

“I love you too, Alex.” Jack repeated, nuzzling into Alex’s hand.

“Now, as cute as you are, I’m going to miss my bus.” Alex abruptly pulled away and made his way to the door. “Four o’clock, Jack!” He called out before he left the apartment.  
Jack winced at the loud sound of the door slamming. They really needed a quieter door. He looked at the clock on the television. It was only eight-thirty, he could still get another five hours before he had to get up and get ready for work. He probably needed another shower. Not much actual washing had been done during the shower he took this morning. He reached over and shut the television off. He could move back into the bed, but that required too much effort. He just wanted to sleep. Jack still loved sleep, though for different reason. Now he loved to sleep because of how tired he always was. Work, sex, general maintenance for the apartment. He slept much better than he used to though, because now sleep felt more like a reward. And he did not sleep to escape his reality anymore. Because his reality, his life with Alex, it might as well be a dream come true. 

Jack fell asleep almost immediately after shutting the television off. He did not dream during his nap, but he did not need to dream. Maybe nobody liked him when he was twenty-three, but at twenty-four, he had someone that liked him. Someone that loved him. He wouldn’t trade that for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time writing Jalex, I apologize if it was a bit segmented or dull. I really just wanted to tell a simple story about immaturity versus over maturity, since I feel like that's something that becomes a huge debate and point of conflict once you are over eighteen.  
> And the lyric that really best describes it is of course "Nobody likes you when you're twenty-three", because no matter what you do or how hard you try, you're just at that awkward age between adolescence and adulthood. Both sides are going to hate you.
> 
> Overall, I hope everyone who read enjoyed! I had a lot of fun writing it, Jack and Alex are really fun to write for and explore. I hope to write more for them in the future.


End file.
